Will the weight capacity of an Erie layout built from plywood and fiberglass be the same as an all glass boat bought from Tony? Or does the added weight of the plywood take away from capacity even though the plywood is bouyant? If so, what is the weight capacity of a plywood and glass Erie?
Home built will weigh 125-150#, a production boat weighs 75#. The capacity of the home built will be 50-75# less assuming the size is the same. That is “one” of the advantages of a production boat.
Billy, If everything is the same the capacity will be very much the same with the exception of weight of the boat. This can modify the capacity. A wood boat has a slight advantage in the floatation part of the figures because wood has a higher floatation rating than fiberglass. But at a cost of weight. Capacity is measured in weight before a craft takes on water. So ideally if a boat is the exact same size only made from different materails essentially the capacity will be the same minus the weight of the boat. meaning if your wood boat is 75lbs heavier than a fiberglass one you will not get as much weight in the boat and thus a slightly lower capacity rating. It would be very close but not the same.
If capacity is what you base your purchase on Then I would highly recommend a manufactured and tested boat clearly because you know it will never change.
A wood boat will obsorb moisture and eventually gain weight regardless of how carefull you are. at some point it will chip and show bare wood which then immediately starts absorbing moisture and gaining weight.